The code that runs the Wingnut Tech LED Controller has been a work-in-progress over the last couple of years, and as such, continues to evolve over time. We have added features since the first units were sold, and have found places where the program didn’t quite work the way we thought it would. Because of that, we are offering the tools for customers to be able to upgrade the firmware on their LED Controllers. We are offering this in two different ways:
For those customers that are technical in nature and have experience working with the Arduino IDE, we offer the raw code on our GitHub.
For those that either aren’t as tech-savvy, or don’t want to install the entire Arduino IDE just to flash their LED Controller to the most recent firmware version, we provide the WingnutTech LED Controller Updater for you to simply flash your LED Controller. The app is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Download your version here:
“How can I tell if I need to upgrade my firmware?”
If you have one of the original green controller boards, then this applies to you. When we program the controllers before shipping, we mark them to indicate what version of firmware they have. The most recent firmware version will have a numer written in silver in the corner of the board, indicating it is running that version. If you have no silver number on the board, or if you have a silver shape of some kind, you are running an original firmware, which works fine, but some enhancements have been added since then. As always, we recommend you upgrade to the latest version. The most recent version of the firmware for this board is 1.4.2.
“I love messing with Arduinos, and I want to customize the code myself”
Wonderful! We did too, and that’s what started this whole thing! The code is available on our GitHub. We did this so people who are already familiar with coding and/or have the Arduino IDE can simply clone the repository and manage the code that way.
If you’ve never used git, you can always simply download the zip file from GitHub and use it that way (just make sure to rename the folder from the zip file to “FT-Night-Radian-LED-Controller”, otherwise the Arduino IDE will complain).
If you want to help with any ideas or improvements, we welcome any pull requests, and will review them for possible inclusion into the master branch.
Please keep in mind that the ability to alter the code for this LED Controller comes with absolutely no warranty, and we will not be able to offer any support for LED Controllers running altered code. If the LED Controller isn’t working correctly, and you need support from us, we will ask that you flash it back to the most recent version of the firmware on the master branch before proceeding.
The code can be found at https://github.com/wingnut-tech/LEDController
“I don’t want to mess with programming, I just want to update my LED Controller”
The process for flashing your unit to the most recent code is very easy.
You will need:
1. A mini-USB or micro-USB cable, depending on the age of your controller. If your controller board is green, you will need a mini-USB cable. If your controller board is blue, you will need a micro-USB cable.
2. The WingnutTech programming app
Download your version here:
Do not plug the controller into a USB port until the software has been installed
Extract and install the programming app
Remove the input cable from the LED controller
It is safe to completely remove the controller from the plane to do the firmware upgrade if that’s easier, but if you are leaving it in the plane, you need to unplug it from your receiver so your USB port doesn’t try to power up your radio system
Plug the USB cable into the LED Controller USB port. Plug the other end into your PC
Run the programming app
The app will automatically download the latest firmware version and select the port that the LED controller is connected to
Make any desired changes to the firmware version, or select Custom to set the number of LEDs in your setup
Click Flash Firmware
Wait for the flash to finish
You can now disconnect the USB cable from the LED Controller and reconnect the unit to the plane.